Victoria Premier speaks of

Australia's coronavirus hot spot Victoria will make masks compulsory statewide after reporting a record 723 new cases on Thursday. Masks have been mandatory in the state capital Melbourne and a neighboring semi-rural district for the past week. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the measure will be extended starting Sunday.

Residents around the city of Geelong will not be allowed to have visitors in their homes from late Thursday. The 723 new cases and a daily record 13 deaths exceeded the previous record of 532 cases posted on Monday. Thursday had been a "very tough day", Andrews said. He said extending mandatory masks and banning visitors to homes were meant to keep the infection rate low in regional centers.

"As challenging as this is, it is within our control. All of us, as proud Victorians, if we follow the rules, if we play our part, then we can defeat this. We can drive these numbers down," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

Thursday's numbers were a reflection of increased cases in old-age homes, Andrews said, referring to new infections in Melbourne's nursing homes. Angela Turchiarelli, whose mother is a resident in an aged care facility, told reporters that seniors were getting "neglected."

"Someone needs to come forward and say 'come on, enough is enough.' Three weeks is too long to keep them there," Turchiarelli said.